Best Of The West Live Auction (November 13, 2026 5:30 PM PT)

Circa 1885–1887, applied top, quart. An extremely rare beer featuring a fantastic embossed eagle perched atop a barrel. Herman Metzler was listed as an agent for the San Francisco Stock Brewery in 1885, and by 1887 was operating as a beer bottler under his own name. This is another of the coveted Western quart beers from the mid to late 1880s that is seldom offered for sale, with only about seven examples known. As is often the case with these early beers, most known examples exhibit condition issues ranging from lip chips and bruises to more significant damage, making high-grade examples particularly difficult to acquire. Considered by many collectors to be the best-looking and most desirable of all the early Western beers.

Description & Condition: Dark amber color. Surface bruise approximately 3/4" wide extending from the top down into the neck, a 1/4" bruise on the edge of the base, and a potstone with an associated 1/4" check in the shoulder. Regardless, a very difficult bottle to acquire and in better condition than most known examples.

Min. Bid $2,000 - Est. $4,000–$8,000